Zinke picks fight with key Dem at an odd time

Rep. Raúl Grijalva is prepared to work with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who on Friday tweeted that it is “hard” for the Arizona Democrat “to think straight from the bottom of the bottle.”

Zinke’s public insult of the likely incoming chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee was both a sign of the times in President Trump’s Washington, and the kind of deeply personal jab that managed to turn heads.

An oil industry lobbyist who’s been supportive of Zinke’s policies said the tweet didn’t benefit anyone, and he said it’s stirring more speculation that Zinke, who is under federal investigation for a number of alleged ethical breaches, may be planning to leave office soon.

Zinke’s personal attack could have lasting impacts.

“I think it erases any hope that he would cooperate in any good faith with the committee, and escalates the rhetoric at a really inopportune time for him,” said Kate Kelly, director of public lands at the left-wing Center for American Progress.

“Even if he does leave soon, I think that this action will damage the relationship between the Interior Department and the committee for future secretaries,” she said.